With the rise of Gen AI and LLMs, teaching language, especially writing, has experienced significant changes. AI has often been framed in policies and guidelines as an emancipatory companion ever since its potential for personalized support became recognized. However, researchers argue that it limits students’ voices and agency—especially for those who use “non-standard” academic English, such as Black English Vernacular and the Englishes of other ESL/EFL students—through processes of linguistic homogenization (Franchini, 2025). Therefore, our pedagogy now faces a crossroads: the unethical use of AI suppresses voices and agency, whereas its ethical use could elevate language pedagogy to a new level of emancipation, as they claim. Amid these ambiguities, this panel will examine ongoing discussions of GenAI in language pedagogy, especially in writing, by employing the Socratic model and other pedagogical frameworks, including Multilingual Feedback Loops, Participation Equity Mapping, Testimonio Counter-Archives, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT).

Drawing on ideas from Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies (Paris & Alim, 2017), Ladson-Billings’ (1995) theory of culturally relevant pedagogy, and Canagarajah’s Translingual Practice (2013), the panel highlights how linguistic diversity and global Englishes reshape teaching and learning. Similarly, grounded in emancipatory traditions—including Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2000), Apple (2013)’s Official Knowledge, and hooks’ Teaching to Transgress (1994)—it also engages calls for linguistic and racial justice through Baker-Bell’s Linguistic Justice (2020) and the CCCC (2020) demand for Black linguistic justice. Complementing these perspectives, Meyer et al.’s (2014) work on UDL and Winkelmes et al.’s (2016, 2019) research on transparency in teaching underscore the importance of access, clarity, and inclusive course design for supporting diverse learners. Additional insights from Anzaldúa (1987), Pérez (1999), Morales (2019), and Inoue (2015) further invite reflection on identity, voice, and power in writing pedagogy. These approaches frame writing as an emancipatory practice that empowers student voices, which GenAI tools may constrain.

The panel includes four presenters, each speaking for 12 minutes, with the remaining time reserved for a session introduction, audience questions, interactions, and responses. First, Ananta Khanal will introduce the panel and its members.

Then, speaker one, Saroj GC, will examine how AI’s rapid and often uncritical adoption in writing classrooms has unsettled core principles of writing pedagogy, especially the view of writing as a dialogic, process-oriented practice. Drawing on Freire’s dialogic pedagogy and Apple’s (2013) concept of “official knowledge,” he will argue for recentering the importance of dialogue and conversation, not just in a simplistic sense but as a pathway to foster "epistemological relationships," and a rhetorical practice to negotiate the issues of language, authorship, and writing as a crucial part of pedagogy.

Then, speaker two, Dr. Melisa Garcia, will reimagine the ethical use of AI in multilingual writing classrooms as a form of testimonio that advances linguistic justice and emancipatory pedagogy. Drawing on Baker-Bell (2020) and the CCCC (2020) call for Black linguistic justice, Dr. Garcia will position AI not as a neutral authority but as a critical tool for exposing and resisting language hierarchies. Through practices such as multilingual feedback, participation reflection, and counter-archival storytelling, Dr. Garcia will demonstrate how students can interrogate AI biases and assert their linguistic identities, transforming AI into a site of resistance, critical inquiry, and equitable meaning-making.

Then, speaker three, Dr. Mijeong Mimi Kim, will explore how language classrooms, including writing instruction, can move beyond restrictive approaches to generative AI by engaging students in ethical, collaborative, and reflective use of these tools. Using practical ideas from a university Korean language program, this presentation will showcase how structured dialogue, student-created guidelines, and critical evaluation of AI outputs empower learners to actively participate in shaping responsible AI use. Grounded in UDL (Meyer et al., 2014) and TILT (Winkelmes et al., 2016, 2019), Dr. Kim's approach emphasizes transparency, process, and interaction, fostering critical AI literacy while maintaining the communicative core of language learning.

Then, speaker four, Jay Dixit, will challenge deficit narratives that portray AI use as a threat to academic integrity, especially for working-class and first-generation students. Instead, Jay will reframe AI as a Socratic thinking partner that supports iterative feedback, critical reflection, and skill development. Drawing on ideas from writing pedagogy and equity-focused frameworks, the speaker stresses process over product, helping students improve their argumentation through guided revision cycles. Framing AI as a tool for formative feedback rather than content creation broadens access to personalized support and makes writing instruction more fair and academically rigorous.

Finally, the session will conclude with a review and Q&A.